ECONOMY
-Charges to citizens’ mobile, landline and Internet accounts by providers grew by up to 20% in the recent period compared to previous charges, Ta Nea reported. According to the Greek daily, providers hiked their service prices after the government turned down their requested readjustment of the contracts.
-The number of new applications submitted by debtors to the platform for the out-of-court settlement mechanism reached 7,360 in February, a record high, AMNA reported. The average in 2023 was 3,400 new applications per month.
-The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) is one step before the complete divestment from Greece’s four systemic banks, after the successful sale of all the shares it owned in Piraeus Bank, Kathimerini reported.
-The CEO of National Bank of Greece (NBG), Pavlos Mylonas, spoke about a dividend of 25%-30% during the presentation of the 2023 results. After the approval for the bank’s dividend is completed and the Financial Stability Fund decides to sell the 18% of NBG’s share capital that it still owns, then the bank’s management will discuss buy back scenarios.
SHIPPING
As of March 4, 2024, Greek shipowners controlled a record number of 4,212 ships of various categories, with a total tonnage of 355,209,500 DWT and 208,252,588 GT, Naftemporiki reported citing the annual report of the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee (G.S.C.C.), prepared by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The order book figures represent a 50% increase in new orders.
TOURISM
-Athens was selected as Europe’s Leading City-break Destination at the World Travel Awards 2024, held in Berlin last week. In 2023, the Greek capital, achieved a new record in international arrivals, surpassing 7 million visitors.
-Athens International Airport will implement a three-phase investment plan to accommodate 50 million passengers by 2045. The project demands an investment totaling 1.35 billion euros for the initial two phases alone.